Bitcoin Dominance Hits 4-Year High Amid Altcoin Annihilation

Bitcoin market dominance is currently at a 4-year high of more than 62%, its highest level since March 2021, despite its 29% correction.

There was a brief spike above this level on Feb. 3, but that appears to be an isolated wick, whereas recent increases have been more sustained, according to Tradingview.

Moreover, BTC market share has been steadily rising since early December, when it fell to 55% sparking hopes of an altseason that never materialized.

“Bitcoin dominance has surged to a new cycle high, surpassing its previous peak – clear evidence that the altcoin rally was short-lived,” reported Matrixport on March 12.

BTC Eats Markets

“Savvy traders have rotated out of altcoins and into Bitcoin, which, despite its own decline, has significantly outperformed the broader altcoin market,” it added.

The next leg of the Bitcoin rally “may require more patience,” with the Federal Reserve likely to maintain its hawkish stance, it stated.

Analysts have flagged 70% BTC dominance as the peak of its cycle, and a fall from this could signal the beginning of altseason. But that appears to be a long way off at the moment, with most altcoins dropping below 50% from their previous peaks.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest crypto asset, has taken the brunt of the pain, with its market share slumping to its lowest point for almost five years this week at 8.5%, according to Tradingview.

ETH prices have returned to bear market lows, tanking below $1,800 on March 11 and failing to recover the key $2,000 level.

It is also the weakest it has been against Bitcoin since May 2020, with the ETH/BTC ratio slumping to 0.022 this week.

Altcoin Annihilation

Ethereum is not the only altcoin in pain, however.

Solana has pretty much collapsed over the past couple of months as the memecoin bubble burst. The network derives 80% of its revenue and utility from memecoin minting and trading. As a result, SOL prices have collapsed 60% in just two months since their all-time high in mid-January, and network revenue is down 90%.

Cardano (ADA) had a couple of brief spurts to top $1, but the asset remains down 76% from its 2021 peak. Dogecoin (DOGE) has also pumped and dumped and is currently down the same percentage from its peak almost four years ago.

Other altcoins slipping into bear market territory (more than 70% down from their peaks) include Chainlink (LINK), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Avalanche (AVAX), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and Polkadot (DOT).